A Real Man Endures the Pain (1)
―Could he be someone here to help us?
Rising to her feet, Je Hayeong asked through transmitted voice.
―Doubt it.
Je Chuyeong shook her head.
―How can you be so sure?
―Our enemies aren't just anyone—they're the Five Vices of Heavenly Cripples. There's no one here with the gall to pick a fight with men like that.
Unless someone here had the confidence to wipe out the Five Vices, there was no helping it. Of those present, Gu Ham had come to seize the Heavenly Physician Wagons, and Yi Hal had come fishing for an easy profit. There was no reason for anyone to lend them a hand.
―Then what was that just now?
―He wasn't trying to save us.
―Still, I'm going to ask.
―How exactly do you plan to do that?
―Like this.
"I am Je Hayeong, Master of the Fourth Pavilion of Jecheon Medical Manor. I don't know who you are, wandering hero, but if you help us, you'll be richly rewarded—and I swear that both I, Je Hayeong, and my twin sister Je Chuyeong will become your servants and serve you as our master."
―Sister, are you insane?
Je Chuyeong stared at her in shock.
―What did I do?
―At least wait until you know who he is. And fine, promise a reward—but why on earth would you offer to become his servant?
―Once the Heavenly Physician Wagons are taken, elixirs will be overflowing. Do you really think a promise of gold would carry any weight in a situation like this?
―But dragging me into it too, really?
―I'm too old to swear an oath all by myself.
―Sister!
―Right now we have to grab at any straw we can. Look at them. The moment I said I'd become a servant, their eyes changed.
Je Hayeong pointed at the bandits.
Je Chuyeong turned her head. Her sister was right. A fierce killing intent was pouring off the bandits. They were clearly dreaming that if they destroyed the Five Vices of Heavenly Cripples, they could claim both the elixirs of Jecheon Medical Manor and the twin sisters as their servants.
Which meant Je Hayeong's words had struck home.
"Whoever it is, the hero who destroys those men will become master to the both of us."
This time it was Je Chuyeong who shouted.
"WAAAAAH!"
"UWOOOAH!"
The bandits and the warriors of Jecheon Medical Manor roared as one and charged at the three Vices of Heavenly Cripples.
They were going to fight anyway—if they could pick up a woman in the bargain, nothing could be better than that.
Besides, Je Hayeong and Je Chuyeong were both stunningly beautiful.
At that moment, Sim Bul-won arrived at the spot where Jin Yigang and Mu Daebo had been standing moments before. But the two of them were nowhere to be seen.
"Where the hell did those bastards crawl off to?"
Sim Bul-won muttered as he spread the Art of Ten-Li Perception.
"Perceiving what, you little bastard? I'm right here."
Jin Yigang stepped out from behind a tree six jang away. In each of his hands was one of the stones Mu Daebo had so painstakingly prepared for him.
Sim Bul-won quickly probed Jin Yigang's internal force. Convinced he'd misread it the first time, he checked again.
"……"
Sim Bul-won stared at Jin Yigang, dumbfounded.
"I don't appreciate getting looked at with those slimy eyes of yours, you bastard."
"You rat-balled little—!"
Sim Bul-won was flabbergasted. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined a man with no internal force at all would dare provoke him.
"If I'm a rat's ball, then what does that make you, huh? A fly's ball? No wait—a hunchbacked fly's ball, you son of a bitch?"
Th-that lunatic.
Mu Daebo, hiding behind the tree, went pale with horror.
He'd never imagined anyone could speak to the Five Vices of Heavenly Cripples like this. Provocation or not, this was outright madness.
No, wait—isn't that actually a magnificent provocation?
Before long, a grin spread across his face.
It was no surprise at all—if Jin Yigang provoked properly, their side's odds of winning only grew.
"Is it you?"
A low voice came from behind.
Mu Daebo turned his head.
Three jang away stood Si Byeok, the Faceless Demonic Evil.
This ruins the whole plan.
Mu Daebo looked at Jin Yigang.
The plan had been for Jin Yigang to throw his stone and distract Sim Bul-won, at which point Mu Daebo would step in and finish the job. But instead of one enemy, two had come—and now he himself had been spotted.
"Pray for your soul."
Mu Daebo decided to forget about Jin Yigang.
Si Byeok was a master even Mu Daebo couldn't guarantee victory against. If he clumsily tried to cover for Jin Yigang, they'd both go down. If Jin Yigang managed to survive until the enemy was dead, then he could be rescued.
"HYAH!"
With a battle cry, Mu Daebo shot toward Si Byeok.
"KEKEKEKE! A green little pup!"
Si Byeok didn't recognize Mu Daebo, taking him for just another warrior of Jecheon Medical Manor. With seventh-grade power, he unleashed the Floating Corpse Demonic Palm.
WHAM!
"UGH!"
THUD! THUD-THUD-THUD!
Si Byeok stumbled backward again and again.
"Y-you're not some nameless foot soldier?!"
"Ever seen a nameless foot soldier this tall? Huh? Answer me, you bastard!"
With the advantage seized, Mu Daebo pressed in even more savagely. His right hand unleashed the Iron Horse Palm, his left the Iron Horse Fist. Palm and fist hammered into Si Byeok's entire body.
Si Byeok flailed both arms in blind panic.
WHAM! WHAM-WHAM-WHAM!
Dull impacts burst out without pause.
"You put your faith in that one—so what now?"
Sim Bul-won advanced toward Jin Yigang as he spoke. His expression was cautious as he moved. Jin Yigang's confidence bothered him. So did the stones in his hands.
"Thinking about it right now. If I run, you'll just chase me, won't you?"
"I'll tear your crotch open and kill you."
"Your arms are too short to tear my crotch. That's not a martial arts or internal force problem—it's a physical defect. Absolutely not happening."
"Why you insolent little—"
"A dwarf with a turd for a spine, running his mouth about torn skin. 'Insolent bastard' suits you better than me, doesn't it? Maybe I'll just rip that mouth of yours wide open, hmm?"
"RAAAGH!"
Finally, Sim Bul-won exploded. He stomped the ground with every ounce of his internal force. It was at that exact moment that Jin Yigang's right arm sliced through the empty air.
KRAKOOM!
Mu Daebo's Tyrant Kun Fiend Palm collided with Si Byeok's Floating Corpse Demonic Palm, and a thunderous blast erupted.
Ugh!
Si Byeok screamed inwardly and fell back.
He hadn't shown it, but he was on the verge of blacking out. The man he'd dismissed as third-rate trash was a master who surpassed him.
SWISH!
While he was distracted for an instant, Mu Daebo came hurtling in. Despite his enormous frame, he moved faster than the eye could follow.
Si Byeok hastily kicked off the ground.
"Don't you run, you rat bastard!"
WHAM!
"AAAAAGH!"
At that very moment, a dull impact was followed by a hideous scream.
"Damn it!"
A curse tore from Mu Daebo's mouth.
In his mind, the only person who could be screaming right now was Jin Yigang. The man hadn't even repaid the debt of his life being saved, and now he was going to die for nothing?
As rage surged, his movements grew faster still.
"F-Flashing Light Daebo!"
Si Byeok cried out without meaning to.
Flashing Light Daebo meant a Daebo who moved with the speed of light—another epithet of Mu Daebo, the Tyrant Kun Fiend.
"Th-then you're the Tyrant Kun Fiend—"
"Then die, you bastard!"
Mu Daebo's fist shot out.
It was Pacheon Palm, the final stance of the Tyrant Kun Fiend Palm. An enormous fist and palm hurtled toward Si Byeok. He couldn't block it head-on.
He flung himself to the right.
"Huh?!"
Si Byeok's eyes went wide.
The force bearing down on him vanished, and Mu Daebo appeared right in front of him. And he hadn't simply appeared—his right fist was driving forward with full force. Which meant the earlier attack had been a feint. A false strike.
Damn it all!
Si Byeok clenched his teeth.
He couldn't dodge, and blocking was impossible. That left only one option.
Ignoring Mu Daebo's attack, Si Byeok unleashed his own martial art. The technique he deployed was a mutual-destruction strike—to die together.
"WAHAHAHAHA!"
Mu Daebo laughed out loud.
He's laughing?
Si Byeok's eyes went wide. He was executing a mutual-destruction technique, and the man was laughing? The rumors that he loved battle like a madman were apparently no lie.
But still—
WHAM!
The enormous fist slammed into Si Byeok's chest.
"GRAAAAGH!"
Even as he screamed, he didn't stop his own strike.
THUD!
His Floating Corpse Demonic Palm struck Mu Daebo's chest.
"GUOOOAGH!"
Mu Daebo too screamed and staggered back.
"Daebo, flatten yourself on the ground."
Jin Yigang's voice came at that exact moment.
"My sa—UGH!"
Mu Daebo stretched out flat like a frog.
WHAM!
"GRAAAAAAAAGH!"
A hideous scream exploded right in front of him. Mu Daebo raised his head. The center of Si Byeok's face had caved in—the face that had already been hard to look at was now a complete monstrosity. Si Byeok, of course, was dead.
Mu Daebo rose and turned around.
Jin Yigang was standing there, grinning ear to ear.
"……"
Mu Daebo blinked. He thought his eyes had deceived him. But Jin Yigang was already right in front of him.
"Three left now. Let's go!"
"You—what the hell happened to you?"
Mu Daebo still couldn't hide his astonishment.
"Tripped while backpedaling, and there was money lying on the ground. What can I say."
"Hey!"
"He's dead and I'm alive, so it all worked out. If we stand around here while those guys all die, your father's fur rug's going to be ruined, you bastard."
The reason Jin Yigang was lending a hand he had no ability to lend was, purely and simply, his father.
If Jecheon Medical Manor fell—no, even if it didn't fall, if things merely got to the brink of falling—the money flowing to his father would surely be cut off.
And no one else was going to look after the old man.
It wasn't a life of plenty, but for his father to keep enjoying his little hobby(?), nothing could be allowed to happen to Jecheon Medical Manor.
"How did you kill Sim Bul-won, you bastard?"
"I told you, I've got two stones."
"So what you're saying is—"
"Never underestimate this stone fist."
Jin Yigang raised his right fist and started walking.
"You're hopeless."
Mu Daebo shook his head and followed. Soon the two of them reached the battlefield.
The bandits had been driven to the brink of annihilation. The three Vices of Heavenly Cripples had taken wounds of their own, but their martial prowess remained overwhelming.
"I saw it earlier—he's got some incredible movement art."
"It's Flashing Light."
"See that tree over there?"
Jin Yigang pointed at the tree standing beside Gwang Saeng, the One-Legged Crippled Evil.
"Yeah."
"Get behind it and wait."
"Got it."
Mu Daebo nodded.
"Hey…… you took a killing blow earlier. You alright?"
"You asking me?"
"You screamed so loud I thought someone was slaughtering a pig nearby, hey."
"……"
A thick killing intent poured off Mu Daebo. The fact that he had screamed had wounded his pride enormously.
"Daebo, a real man endures the pain, that's all. Having balls doesn't automatically make you a man."
"Damn it!…… Going."
WHOOSH!
Mu Daebo's figure vanished behind the tree in an instant.